Painful in more ways than one

If you missed this past week's episodes, you didn't miss much. The Jack/Jen/Frankie situation went over the same ground again, and Jennifer decided to throw yet another party for Jack.

Sorry guys...but this is going to be another short column. I pulled something in my back on Tuesday and have been lying flat on it ever since. I am currently propped up at the computer with an elaborate configuration of pillows but it's not going to last long. It hurts just to keep my head up. I'm not sure what I did exactly but I strained something while stretching one morning and that was that. My husband tells me I'm old - to which I respond by tossing the nearest thing at him; though I'm careful not to throw the remote...if I give that up, I'll never get it back. Anyway, since I've been home all week, I was able to watch Days 'live' every day (its regularly broadcasted time versus a taped episode). Let me just tell ya...I won't be doing that again any time soon. Not only was this past week totally booorrring, I couldn't even Fast Forward through any of it! If it weren't for the strong painkillers I was on; I wouldn't have been able to listen to the inane conversations about nothing all week long. As it was, I played a game with myself called; "Are they repeating the same conversations or are you experiencing drug-related hallucinations?" It was fun for a while...

Thanks to everyone who emailed me with their warm wishes for my grandfather's health. You guys are very sweet and I really appreciate your thoughts. It touches my heart to know that some of you are saying prayers for him. He had surgery at the beginning of the week and the whole family is waiting for word on the progress of his recovery. It has been slow but steady and the doctors are optimistic that he will be able to return home soon.

Yep...this was one boring week. If you missed this week's episodes, you didn't miss much. The Jack/Jen/Frankie situation went over the same ground again. Jennifer decided to throw yet another party for Jack. This time it's simply to cheer him up or something dumb like that. Poor girl, she just has nothing better to do with her time than organize parties and barbecues. Remember when she actually held down a job? How are they supporting themselves anyhow? Silly me, I'm sure that - much like everyone else in Salem BUT Nicole Walker - they are independently wealthy. Horton money probably. Anyhow...at the end of Friday's show, Jennifer found the bottle of prescription pills that Jack is taking for his incurable and rare disease (collective sigh here folks) and...recognizing the name of the medicine immediately, she looked it up on the internet. In record time, she jumped to the conclusion that Jack has the same dreaded disease that she found on the internet. Half of me thinks that this is just another red herring and that Jack will somehow talk his way out of it but I seriously hope not. A reader wrote in to suggest that Jen should find out ASAP and then embark on an adventure with Frankie to find the cure. Sounds like a great idea, I'm all for that. No, I don't want J and J to break up but anything is better than watching this crap drag on for so long.

The ONLY thing that saved this week from being a total write off was Sami's storyline. Although at the beginning of the week; it totally sucked. Everything seemed to be going against Sami. Lucas came to see Sami intending on discussing things with her but unfortunately, Austin came to the door and Lucas jumped to the conclusion that she had moved on with his brother and he freaked out. It was such a sad scene and only served to push Sami and Lucas even further apart. It annoys me to see the blatant set up of the Lucas/Sami/Austin triangle. Nobody wants Sami and Lucas to be with anyone other than each other but once again, TPTB have conspired to keep Lumi apart. Who knows how long this will go on, my only hope is that Lucas will see the light and decide to fight for Sami's love. That might be a story worth watching

After the soul-tearing episode with Lucas, Sami was treated to a visit from her father. Not to console her or check on her or any of the other fatherly things I had imagined when I saw him enter her apartment. No, of course not - this is Salem where only your immediate family member arrests you! That's right, Roman was there to formally arrest and charge his daughter with "high treason." Isn't that nice? It's just about what every girl imagines her father saying to her one day. Thankfully, Austin saved the day and all charges against Sami were dropped and she was free to go. MUCH to Kate's chagrin of course. For me, the scenes in Roman's office on Friday were some of the best I've seen between Sami and Kate in a long time. Both of them had dropped their venomous attitudes towards each other, though not the sharp-tipped barbs. I found the exchange between them a lot more palatable then when they snarl and growl and hiss at each other. I was cheering Sami on as she urged Kate to believe that she truly did try to save the guys when she realized what Tony was up to. And I gave her a hearty "You Go Girl" for telling Kate that even if it was her worst enemy, she would thank the individual who had saved her son's life. Though it baffled me completely that Kate was even privy to the discussion in the first friggin place...my hope is that by being there, she will understand that it is finally over and can begin to let go of her stupid rivalry with Sami. You probably noticed that I neatly skipped over the whole "Austin saved the day" comment. It's because really...there were just too many jokes I could make about that ridiculous turn of events! Austin was the one who came up with the reason why Sami couldn't be charged with or convicted of treason? Austin? AUSTIN? Color me shocked people, but this is a character who could barely manage to tie his own shoes before he left Salem! When did he become a lawyer? Did he spend a couple days researching the specific situation that Sami had blundered her way in to? Of course everything he said made perfect sense (and mirrored exactly what we fans have been saying all along). Sami couldn't be charged with treason because a) she wasn't responsible for Philip's capture; b) Brady, Shawn et al were operating as "mercenaries" and not affiliated with a government agency; c) she was coerced and blackmailed in to giving assistance to Tony and d) she actually saved the guys as soon as she had the chance. Well duh...you probably don't need to be a lawyer to figure all that out. I have one observation: Mickey, Roman, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the DA are all a bunch of idiots! Not one of these people or organizations was able to put it all together? Mickey with his 40+ years of experience and Roman with his 30+ couldn't see any of this until AUSTIN of all people pointed it out? GIVE me a ....oh never mind. I should be used to Reilly's heavy-handed way of doing things by now.

Shawn and Mimi kissed! A real I-want-to-kiss-you-for-you kiss! Yay! I'm probably the only happy one out here but...oh well! What a great kiss it was too! For anyone who thinks that Shimi doesn't have chemistry - did you see that kiss? I rest my case. I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm sure that, if Bonny has anything to say about it, whatever it is; it's bound to be interesting.

Don't even talk to me about Alex North. Ugh! His actions this week keep dragging him further down the "hated character" chart. As has been pointed out by a few readers, if they can redeem Jack after he committed rape, they can probably redeem Alex North as well. Be that as it may, I hated him this week. His constant manipulations of Marlena's mind drove me nutty! I've been yelling at John through the television all week! And if I weren't so relaxed I might have shaken my fist at him too. How can he be so blind! Jeez... he has plenty of personal experience with brainwashing, not to mention strange goings-on where Marlena is concerned; it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put it all together. Maybe he should call Austin for help? Upshot of this storyline...the dialogue has been wonderful! I give two thumbs up to the dialogue writers; they have done a good job at portraying John's complete focus on his love for his wife and his desire to help her regain her memories and her life. It's the storyline direction writers that are biting it right now. I also loved the flashbacks - though it completely puzzles me why TPTB see the need to show the flashbacks in a blurred fashion so that facial features are indistinct.

It was so nice to have a break from the Chelsea/Billie/Patrick end of the saga this week. Though they do serve to keep the show interesting, there's only so much you can take of this trio.

Reader Feedback: Thanks to everyone who wrote in! I love reading your comments and feedback about the show and this column; so keep them coming! From Olga:" Hey, Pam! You are so right on with all your comments. I too am completely disappointed with the turn of events with Sami/Lucas/Kate. I remember when the whole outing of Kate took place a little while ago, I found myself saying "Is that IT???!" I mean, the woman drugs her son's fiancée, ruins their wedding and then vehemently denies it forever, and this is all she gets? And after that no one even cared, no one shunned her, not her friends, not her kids, no one except for Roman. But of course, Sami has to go down in flames for being Stan. And then Days reminds us all of her misfortunes by bringing out all the old wedding dresses. Why? We don't want to be reminded of her past pains, we want her to finally be happy and let others be happy too. We want Kate to suffer, to be reduced to nothing, we want to wipe that smug off her face and to get rid of that fake british accent for good! But no, we have to watch Sami suffer and Kate come out the winner! And then Phil has to go and blame Sami for getting his leg blown off! Sheer stupidity! When I was watching Sami's wedding being ruined, I realized that this is the last straw for me. I really wanted to stop watching the soap forever. I turned off the television - there was no reason for me to watch. There is no payoff in Days anymore. Bad guys always win. Just like on that other JR's show - Passions. Stupid, hateful show, with people getting put in insane asylums and raped and drowning in tsunamis. Days is slowly rotting like Passions. The one thing I like is Shawn and Mimi. I used to be such a Shelle fan, and now I cannot stand Belle (I want Kirsten Storms back, MM is just way to intense). Philip is a snake - he is so obviously enjoying tormenting his wife with thoughts of the love of her life being with another woman, and tormenting Shawn by asking him to do things, like carry him upstairs so he can make love to Belle. I like the fact that Belle is suffering, I like that Mimi is giving her some hell, I don't think that Mimi has been in love with Shawn all this like, but I really like them together. I hope, though, that when it comes out that the baby is in fact Shawn's, he won't just drop Mimi for Belle. I also like that reighteous John Black doesn't have his precious Doc anymore, although I am creeped out by Dr. North's manipulation of Marlena. I love Wayne Northrop, though. And last thought. Since when is Billie - Nicole??? Billie said to ChelGia that her father made her do porn. I was like: "Whaaaat???" When did that happen??? Or did I miss something? Oh yeah, and when did the reception get switched to Chez Rouge? It was supposed to be at Alice's. Did they switch it only to get that catfight between Bonnie and Maggie in? And also, why would Rex send Mimi the box of their mementos? Pictures and ticket stubs and love letters etc.? Sounds like something I did when I was 16... I was under the impression that grown men don't do things like this." From Chantal:"Thanks for your column - i think i basically agreed with everything you wrote. for quite a while now i've seen days as a bunch of short stories that the writers desperately try to interweave into a complete show. when i watch it that way, i can sometimes be interested and entertained but if a miss a day, or two, i'm not as bothered as i used to be. most plotlines were done for shock value (still reeling from the lack of resolution of the salem stalker storyline) but now the solution that days is using to boost their ratings is to bring in former characters. they are a breath of fresh air for about a week and then the storylines denigrate. in days' defense (am i nuts??), it has to be hard to come up with an original idea but it would be nice if they followed through on existing storylines to something that made sense. case in point -- phil blaming stan for the loss of his leg (phil should not have gone into the marines at all but gone away to a rich boy's college like only phil could have done -- i've never seen him as a noble marine nor feel for his current plight), the isa letting stan's costume and dna report out of its "secure" location (stan was so far out there that i agree if tony can do that, he'd be ruling the world right now), belle's baby being a "preemie" (belle should not be having a baby and if she and her husband were to move out of the state, or country, i wouldn't miss them), jack's illness (rather see jack and jennifer and frankie try to find the cure to his illness showcasing jack and jen's propensity to be good detectives as they did when they worked for the spectator and bring back harold), john being ineffective (john finding out what the flock is going on with alex and who he is with kate helping him while she is running basic black), lexie getting it on with tek in the first place (was abe really that bad to her? -- lexie being grateful abe is alive and back in her life (the father of her child) and doing whatever she can, with the help of tek (and some sexual tension) to find a cure for abe's illness), etc. how horrible would it have been to have an uninterrupted wedding that brought home what days used to tout - family values and get togethers, love, kids, everyone on the show we've come to love actually at the wedding as opposed to a bunch of extras whom we have no idea how they received a wedding invitation. all that having been said, i'm looking forward to shawn and mimi becoming more than friends and that's what will keep me watching, for now. to sum it up - i'm looking for some intelligently written dialogue with feeling and pathos."

From Shannon:"Can Mimi get anymore pathetic? good lord it is bad enough that she has always been weak and deceitful, but now the powers that be want us to swallow that she is "saving" shawn from Belle? Give me a freakin break! Get rid of this character as she has been ruined beyond redemption for me. Sami got exactly what she deserved for her viciousness towards everyone in Salem. Now if only kate would get what she deserves! Austin better not be trying to hook back up with Sami. That story was so contrived and horrid the first time around that I can't imagine how much worse it could get this time. Pair him up with Nicole and then bring Carrie back, that would be an interesting story. Hope needs to kick Bo out of the house if he keeps treating her like an after-thought. Chelsea is unbelievable as a teenage girl, I have never seen someone so sex-mad in my entire life. Calm her down before she is a completely ruined character, now an interesting story would be seeing max really fall for her and have her reject him one too many times and then Abby comforts him and he falls in love with her, just when Chelsea realizes she has always loved Max. Philip needs to grow up and quit blaming others for his problems. Sami didn't tell him to go running back out into a minefield where he got his leg blown off. He also knows full well that Belle still has feelings for shawn and he keeps throwing Shawn and Mimi in her face just to torture her. Mimi and Shawn have zero chemistry and the forced mini-romance here is just ridiculous. Shawn loves Belle and Belle loves Shawn and we all know that the baby is theirs and they will be getting back together sooner or later. Mimi no longer has purpose on the show. The Tek/Lexie/Abe junk is boring, Abe has been ruined for me and I no longer care if Lexie stays with him or not, Tek is not a real character and has exhausted his possibilities with the show. John and Marlena are the end game end of story, though i am confused on who Dr. North is supposed to be, he is having some weird flash backs. Jack dying is a tired plot device, how many times has he been near death or died in the past 10 years alone? All in all the show needs some serious restructuring. Get the money couples back together and let them stay together, bring back the sense of family and friendship and adventure and mystery, Characters like bonnie lockart and Patrick, Mimi, Tek have no place except to waste our airtime. Get to the good stuff please!

From Bea Johnson:"And for those of you who emailed me and claimed that Kate could not be prosecuted because of the tapes...only one person has to be aware that the conversation is being taped to make it admissible in court. Wrong! Every state has different laws concerning this issue. Some states, it has to be 2-party knowledge and other's it is only 1-party knowledge for it to be admissible in a court of law. I don't know, but i have been loving DAYS for the past 2 months. Every storyline has been really good(except that Jack/Jennifer/Frankie s/l). I loved the argument between Chelsea and Sami, and the fight between Maggie and Bonnie. I also was happy to see Victor and Lucas with Phelle and Claire. It was sweet. I just pray that they won't turn around and make Shawn Claire's father. I really have no desire to see Shawn and Belle back together. Let him and Mimi get together. I am also very intrigued by Dr. Alex North, at some points I think that he is Stefano and then he has those damn flashbacks.I actually like Nicole now. Also, I think that Kate and Sami equally share the blame in that rivalry. Although I do love when Kate get's the better of Sami. I do think that rivalry needs to end. I think that a great storline would be for some disaster to happen in Salem and have some people finally get together and others to have it out for the last time. Like have Kate and Sami stuck in a elevator and finally come to a mutual understanding and let Lumi be together. Or have Phelle and Claire stuck in a room where they can truly bond as a family. And have Mimi and shawn stuck somewhere and have sex. and let Austin and nicole get together. or have Kate and Victor reunite. I can always wish.

From Martha:"Pamela, I hate to say it, but I want Shawn and Belle to get back together. Philip is just too pathetic! I get tired of his "sweetheart" crap. I hope Belle has a raging hot night with Shawn and remembers the paternity of little Claire. As for Mimi, she needs to give it up, and I hope they find a new love interest for her. I just don't like her with Shawn. But, you're right on one thing. The shows have been sucking it up lately. Thanks for the great column!

From Gisele:"I too was bummed to see Sami and Lucas thwarted in love again! Perhaps miles down the road, Sami will find out that she is pregnant with Lucas' baby. Their reunion was celebrated many times over so perhaps there is a baby Sami on the way! Now wouldn't this KILL Kate!! Days should really reasearch issues of significance and portray them with a certain degree of credibility! I've had enough of the possessed characters, the DiMera woes, the psycho psychiatrists and the list goes on and on! I am in the line up of people who just can't wait to see Kate get what's coming to her! She's EVIL! Perhaps she should have a stroke or something so she could be at the mercy of the people she has destroyed to make her realize what compassionate people do to help others. And the last thing I have to say is how much I HATE Chelsea . . . what an ungrateful little b$%&h. Her attitude is just unbelieveable! Almost as unbelieveable as the dentist / orthodontist who hasn't fixed her jaw yet!!! From Antoine:"Your commentary was completely right on with what I have to say!! Kudos. We really have the same thoughts and opinions when it comes to Days. There is a little thing though, I completely hate the fact that Shawn, and Mimi are paired up. It's completely a disaster waiting to happen. It's like knowing they want drama so, what does Days do find a convenient way to do it. Shawn and Mimi are both coming out a strong relationship. So they are both on the rebound. So, what happens with rebound relationships? Scratch that whats going to happen with a DOUBLE rebound relationship?? Belle is going to start having feelings for Shawn. Shawn is going to have feelings for Belle. Mimi is going to have feelings for Rex. NewRex is going to come back to Salem wanting to be with Mimi. Jan is going to come out her coma (although I wish they keep her in there, or just kill her character off) All in all days is doing their paring as a desperate attempt to create drama. Also because both are single, and know each other doesn't mean they should be together. I really don't care about their storyline, just as long as Kate gets full repayment on her acts and selfish misdeeds. Thats what I want. Belle/Shawn/Mimi/Philip quadrangle wanting to stop is like the third on my wishlist. From Ryan:" k! (last message i'll be sending for awhile) i dont agree with its wrong for Mimi to pursue Shawn (even though i wish she wouldn't!) Belle has made it clear that she doesn't want Shawn so that means Mimi has to pass up on her actual "soul mate" (since Rex is no longer around to take that title) just because Belle and Shawn dated like 2 years ago and were in love but clearly are no longer together and lost what they perviously had, so Mimi has to say good-bye to the one relationship that could save her and bring some happiness back into her life (you know what I'm trying to get accross here) besides, Mimi and Belle arn't friends anymore so that means FREE RIEN ON ALL EX-BOYFRIENDS (however few that may be!) and ps. ugh! give Sami a break, NOONE wanted to see her go down this time! I just wish i could knock on her door and give her a hug! that's all she needs is a friend! (not Austin) write in a friend for Sami! of course she wouldn't accept friendship at first but eventually she would give in and relish in the fact that she's got someone to confide in (that's not family) heck I don't care if shes not 100% honest shes loyal that's for sure (to those she cares about of course) but the girl sure would bring some much needed excitement into anyones life!

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